SAISD trustees hold off on pre-K changes

School district might have to switch to half-day schedule.

Trustees in the San Antonio Independent School District delayed action on a plan to move from full to half-day pre-kindergarten in an effort deal with an impeding loss of both state and federal revenue.

The state pays for a half-day pre-kindergarten program, but SAISD has had a full-day program for roughly a decade.

For years, the district used a state grant to cover the additional cost.

It lost that money about two years ago and plugged the hole with federal stimulus money — which is just a temporary fix.

SAISD trustees have spent weeks struggling with what seemed to be an inevitable decision to switch to a half-day model.

In the face of a dire state-funding shortfall, the district is looking to cut roughly $52 million from its annual budget and has no money to spare to bolster its pre-K program.

“We have very few choices of what we have left to cut,” Trustee Ed Garza said, “unless we get additional revenue.”

But teachers say a full-day program provides necessary time for school readiness activities and is more appealing to parents, some of whom might be unwilling or unable to send their children to a half-day of school.

They also recommended a full-day option for 920 students with the greatest need, paid for by the elimination of the district's library assistant position.

Trustees narrowly defeated that recommendation, and board President James Howard said the board would revisit plans for the pre-K program at a future meeting.

SAISD has about 3,200 pre-K students now, but the administration anticipates a slide in enrollment if the district scales back to a half-day program.

A recent survey of 1,764 current and future parents of SAISD preschoolers found that 69 percent said they would sign up for a half-day program but showed an overwhelming preference for a morning time slot.

Trustee Carlos Villarreal questioned the value of the survey, however, since it includes only a small portion of the parents of currently enrolled students.

He also opposed eliminating the library assistant position, saying those staffers do far more than their job description entails.